Goodbye Memory
by A.D. Williams
Summary: Following the death of Sasuke's clan, Naruto reaches out to console him, taking that fateful first step in forging a bond.


This will only be a one-shot and predominately takes place with Sasuke and Naruto being children. The title comes from Shippuden's 24th ending which shares the same name.

* * *

 **Goodbye Memory**

"Run. Cling to your wretched life."

Sasuke bolted up, kicking the bedsheets away as he tried to escape. His eyes shot around the room, looking for signs of anyone else being in the vicinity, but the room was dark and still. Where was he? His senses slowly filtered the vaguely familiar sights and sounds to arrive at the conclusion that he was in the hospital.

So he must've just had a nightmare…right? But no, that wasn't a nightmare. This was very real and there wasn't enough wishing in the world that would change that. He grabbed his blanket and lay down again, trying to stop shaking.

The last thing he remembered before everything had gone blank was running away from Itachi. Even thinking that was a foreign concept as Itachi had been his everything, the person he'd both hated, but admired more than anyone. And yet, just a few short hours ago, his brother had…

"Mother…father…" He grabbed his pillow, refusing to close his eyes as to not remember the horrible images Itachi had shown to him. He'd already been submitted to replaying the death of his parents repeatedly due to the Mangekyo. Another time and he feared he might very well break.

After being confronted by Itachi, he must have passed out and whoever had found him had brought him here. Now, he had no family and no home.

He wouldn't think about that. He would do as his brother had said and use hatred as his strength to avenge his clan. He avowed then and there that no one else had the right to take down Itachi; that satisfaction would be his and his alone.

He did not sleep at all for the rest of the night.

~.~.~

"Did you hear? The entire Uchiha clan was wiped out yesterday…"

From his isolated corner of the classroom, Naruto heard the whispers, but didn't want to believe they were true. Absolutely no way would someone be strong enough to take out all of the Uchiha. Sasuke was strong enough and he was just a kid! Impossible that someone would kill the adults too—

"I heard it was Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's brother who'd done it," another whisper drifted.

Naruto gasped, but covered his mouth as he saw Sasuke slam his hands on the table from where he sat. The boy got up and with eyes trailing him, he left the classroom. The moment the door was shut, the cap on the noise level burst and everyone began to talk at once.

"Alright, keep it down!" Iruka commanded with a bit more force than usual. Looking towards the door though, he said, "Sasuke's going through a very rough time right now and I ask that all of you be respectful to that. I'll check on him in a little bit but for now, let's go ahead and start for the day."

Naruto didn't even try to pay attention, knowing the lesson wouldn't stick as he learned best with visual representations. He counted down the minutes until break time and the instant the bell rang, he was the first to dash out the room.

It was lunch time, but he didn't have money to buy anything. He usually tried to bring his own ramen and sneak into the teacher's lounge to microwave it, but he'd forgotten to bring the cup with him. He'd suffer for it later with his concentration depleting even more, but for now, that didn't matter. He ran out to the schoolyard and searched around, hoping to find Sasuke. He hunted all around the perimeter, but he wasn't there.

"Maybe he went home," he wondered sadly. But now…what was "home" for Sasuke? He made to head for the tree swing that was away from the other students until he noticed someone looking down from the roof of the school.

He only caught them for a brief moment, but he knew he'd seen the Uchiha fan crest. Instead of fighting the wave of students coming out the main entrance, he ran around to the back which also gave him access to the lesser-used staircases. In seconds, he had burst through the doors that should've been locked but seemed to have recently been singed off, bringing him to the top of the school.

The roof had been built with a chain-link fence surrounding the entire edge. The side where he'd noticed Sasuke looking down earlier was now vacant but he easily caught sight of the Uchiha on the opposite side of the roof, which put him far away from the playground below. The boy was sitting against the wall with his backpack beside him but was staring out into the woods behind the school.

Naruto slowly approached, ensuring his footsteps were heard. He didn't want to startle Sasuke, though he knew from past experiences of trying to sneak up on him that surprising him was highly unlikely. True to form, Sasuke shifted his gaze to him, the eyes dark and cold.

"Go away."

His legs came to a stop before he could even process what had happened. He'd never seen eyes full of such hatred. But he didn't come all this way just to turn away at the first sign of danger. He willed his body to move, keeping a steady advance.

"Are you deaf? What part of 'go away' don't you understand?" Sasuke tried again, sitting up straighter. A hand moved to his back, likely to throw out a weapon.

"I just…wanna talk," Naruto said lamely. "I don't want to annoy you or anything…"

"You've already done that. If that was your mission objective, then you get an F. A failure, just like everything else about you."

Naruto was too slow to hide the tears that sprang up. Above anyone else's, Sasuke's criticisms always hurt the most. He brushed a hand across his face, but continued walking forward until he stood before the other boy. "I don't care if I'm a failure. I just wanted to talk." He sat down beside him, though keeping a little distance.

Not letting up on the barbs, Sasuke shifted further away. "I don't feel like talking. Now go the hell away; I was here first."

But Naruto didn't move. "I heard about what happened," he said quietly, trailing patterns in some of the dirt that'd settled on the ground.

Here, Sasuke swallowed hard, the first sign of something other than anger. "Your point?"

At his confirmation, Naruto felt something inside him hurt. He knew enough to know that decorum mandated that he give his condolences, but that didn't seem like enough. He rose from his spot and walked the few steps over to again sit directly beside Sasuke and before the other could run, he pulled him in with both arms to hug him. "I'm really, really sorry, Sasuke…" he whispered, grabbing tight as he fought not to cry.

Sasuke tried pulling on his shirt to get him to let go, but Naruto was clinging on tight. "I don't need your sympathy. I don't need _anyone_ to feel sorry for me! Take your sorrys and shove it!" He brought a fist up and felt the satisfying connection of his hand against the back of Naruto's head.

Naruto whimpered, but didn't let go.

So Sasuke hit him again. And again. And again. He could easily do this all day if the idiot wanted to. He could see the swell from where a bruise was rising, a thin trickle of blood matting the hair. But he hit again because it felt good.

Again because it was a release.

Again because it was better than the alternative.

Again because…

By the time his hand fell limply to his side, he was crying. Naruto was too, but he didn't think it was because of what he'd done. Sasuke grabbed the front of his own shirt, the place over his heart. "It hurts here. Does it always hurt like this?" He pulled tightly at his chest with a sob.

"Yeah," Naruto answered, sniffling into his shirt. "Sometimes though, you don't notice it as much. But other times…you feel really, really sad," he said, doing his best to articulate depression.

The arms he'd used to previously hurt were brought up and wrapped around the other body against him. "They're gone. Everyone I cared for and now I'm completely alone." He trembled hard, stretching the fabric of the shirt as he pulled on the other boy. "I'm so scared, Naruto. "

The blonde pulled away to see the pure terror in Sasuke's eyes. He would've never imagined that someone like him could also be so vulnerable. "You won't be alone," Naruto said solemnly. "I promise I'll always be here when you need me. And when I make a promise, I keep it. That's my ninja way. So, no matter what, I won't abandon you."

At that, Sasuke completely broke. Naruto held him as he cried himself out, allowing the healing to begin.

~.~.~

A wry smile came to his busted lips but he couldn't help but to grin anyways. From way back then, he'd sowed the seeds of his bond with Sasuke and even if the Uchiha had thought at some point he could simply abandon those feelings, he'd known neither of them could ever truly forget what they'd shared.

He could hear the sound of their friends running to them from where they lay at the bottom of the Valley of the End, but both he and Sasuke were way too spent from their fighting to move. Additionally, both had lost an arm upon their final attacks, two gruesome and bloody smears on the ground beside them being all that was left of those limbs. It'd been worth it though, a minor sacrifice to get back perhaps the most important person in his life. He slowly turned his battered body to view Sasuke and noticed that he was also smiling.

Noticing him looking, Sasuke's smile widened though he too flinched from stretching his cut lip. They both laughed at it, their joy working like a salve to heal the heart and soul.


End file.
